48 Must Pay To Treat Nesquehoning Runoff

The federal government has ordered 48 companies to pay for treating the storm water runoff from a toxic waste site in Nesquehoning.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has been treating the runoff from the Tonolli Superfund Site since late 1989.

Tonolli Inc., a Canadian firm, ran a battery recycling operation in the Green Acres Industrial Park from 1974 to 1985.The 48 firms are mostly battery companies that took their products to Tonolli for disposal, the EPA said.

Tonolli maintained areas for hazardous material storage and disposal at the site, resulting in lead, cadmium and arsenic contamination, the EPA said. It is not among the 48 firms covered by the order because it is based outside the country, the federal agency said. The EPA added that Tonolli has not cooperated in the cleanup.

The order requires the 48 companies, which have been held responsible for the contamination, to assume responsibility for the treatment.

The EPA said the treatment protects people's health, the environment and areas along Nesquehoning Creek, the Bear Creek Reservoir and wells.

The EPA, which placed the site on its Superfund program in 1989, said the immediate threat to human health has been addressed.

Al Peterson, an EPA spokesman, said the agency hopes to announce a cleanup plan in late February.

"Overall, the process is going smoothly," he said.

The 48 companies have studied the 30-acre site and will recommend several cleanup plans. The EPA must approve the plans.